


The Scorpion and the Crane

by Burning_Beaker



Category: Dying Light (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Main character doesn't die when they're supposed to, Other, Spoilers, Swearing, as happy an ending as one can have in a zombie apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 14:39:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9661727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burning_Beaker/pseuds/Burning_Beaker
Summary: A series of stories about the blood-spattered romance of Kyle Crane and Jade Aldemir, spanning from a short time after his arrival to after the events in the Following. Both the events at the museum and at the dam are rewritten for a happier ending.





	1. The Start

When the last runner reported in, Crane knew he was in trouble.

“Crane, what the hell are you doing out there?” Jade demanded over his earpiece, “Why aren't you in a safehouse yet?”

“I'm coming, I'm coming,” he hissed back, hoping the nearby zombie crew didn't hear him.

“You could have gotten to half the safehouses around here by now. What are you doing?” she repeated angrily. Her voice was tense, which was unusual; typically her anger was much calmer.

“I'm slow, okay?” Crane snapped, hauling himself up onto a canopy.

“Bullshit, you're our best runner,” Jade shot back.

“Look, I'll be there soon. Just don't shoot me, okay?”

 

Three minutes later, Crane went vaulting over a wall with three volatiles chomping at his heels.

“Crane you son of a bitch, what the fuck are you doing?” Jade yelled suddenly, nearly giving him a heart attack (like he needed another reason after the first volatile had dropped on him).

“I'm a little busy right now Jade we'll talk later!” Crane shouted back. Normally he tried to keep the noise down, but right now his only concern was getting the hell away from those things. The rest of his thoughts were variations on profane phrases.

As he took a leap of semi-faith (he was pretty sure the landing was safe, and anyway it sure as hell couldn't be worse than staying here), a crackling hiss in his ear suggested the magnitude of Jade’s exasperated sigh.

“I'm coming to get you,” she said, resigned.

“What? No!” Crane cried, sliding under a board of spikes. Scrambling to his feet and continuing his sprint, he added, “Look I'm gonna be there in a minute just hold on!”

“I've been sitting here for five minutes listening to you curse and grunt! I think I can tell when you're in trouble! You've got volatiles on you, don't you?” She'd started off as simply angry or maybe annoyed, but at the end her tone softened. Just a little.

Crane risked a glance below him as he scrambled up a wall air conditioner. “Uh well just one or two,” he replied as casually as he could.

 

She was a fine one to talk; all he heard next was a litany of curses.

* * *

The volatile on top of him was swatted away by a cricket bat.

“Up, up!” Jade yelled, hauling on Crane’s collar. Ah, just like old times.

 

She hauled on his shirt as they started to run, only releasing her grip once he was in her peripheral. When he missed a step, having been startled by an infected, her hand shot out to grab his arm. She practically threw him up the wall of a house. He tried to help her up but she came over the side like a tsunami, dragging him with her. Her grip on his wrist only released when she swung her bat with both hands to smack a biter off the roof. Their scrambling across rooftops soon became a familiar drop down onto the pipes crossing the causeway, the UV glow of the Tower shining over the wall.

 

“Why do you always do this?” she demanded, as soon as they were safely within the UV lights.

“Do what?” Crane asked, rubbing his skinned elbow

“Always insist on coming back to the tower, like a stubborn child!”

Crane shrugged and, sure he was going to get a smack upside the head, replied, “The safehouses all smell bad.”

Jade mimed smacking him upside the head. “Don't be an asshole! Why? You're our best runner - I need you alive and well, not eaten!”

“I've always gotten back fine before,” he shot back defensively. Christ, he wasn't a child to be taken care of!

“Didn't look so great tonight!”

“Jesus, Jade, I'm a grown man; I can handle it!”

“Why do you always do this, huh? The thing for Alfie, every damn supply drop… Why are you always pushing it?”

“Because you need that shit done!” Crane yelled.

“Not at the cost of your life!” Jade screamed back. There was something… _off_ in her voice. It'd been higher, a bit brittle even.

Before Crane could respond, she stormed off to the elevator. He got the message that she probably did not want company in the ride up.

* * *

The next day, Crane was careful to return before Jade even sent out the last warning. He needed to fix things up with her. Because he needed to stay on the good side of the Tower leaders. Even though he had a little feeling at the back of his mind that the reason she was so angry was _because_ he was on their good side. At least Jade’s.

 

Once the last runner called in safe, Crane went hunting for Jade. Eventually he found her up on the roof, running around in the Gym. Okay. He had to do this right.

He ran after her, and he'd been behind her before as she ran, but he'd always been more focused on not getting bitten. But now he could admire the beauty of her movements. He may technically have more raw strength - though that was only even _conceivable_ because she was no longer in a strict training regimen - but she knew how to use every ounce of what she had. Where he grunted and struggled up high walls, she practically flew over them. When she climbed girders she almost seemed to flow upwards. It was breathtaking. Also because she was really, really fast about it. By the time she stopped and turned to watch him stonily, he was in no shape to say the opening lines he'd been thinking of all day.

 

“What are you trying to accomplish?” she asked once he got a grip on the platform she was standing on. When he did not immediately answer, she held out her hand. Crane took it gladly and, with her help, hauled himself up next to her.

“I… have a long way to go, “ her gasped out. Jade shrugged.

“You have more stopping power with the biters,” she said, sitting down with her legs dangling over the edge of the walkway.

“Yeah… thanks,” he wheezed, joining her.

 

Jade didn't look at him for a few seconds, choosing instead to stare out across the darkened city.

“You're a very good man, too,” she said quietly, turning to look at him. A few minutes ago, the sun would have lit up her features in a brilliant reddish sunset. Now her face was just getting harder to see as dusk fell. Still really pretty though.

“I just do what I'm asked,” he said, because admitting how much he risked for the Tower was dangerous. He wasn't supposed to get attached to these people.

“We both know that's bullshit, Kyle,” she shot back, her voice unusually gentle for her and for what she'd said. His pounding heart flipped. It'd been a long time since someone had said his name like that. Shit.

 

There was nothing he could say that would lead to anything good - or rather it would, which would be bad, because good would be bad… ah fuck. Crane just stared at a throng of biters catching fire when a burning car flared brighter.

 

After a suitably long time, Crane piped up, “How'd you find me last night?”

“You always take that route,” she responded, as though it were perfectly natural for her to know that.

“Well, thanks for saving my ass,” he said, trying a smirk. She still wasn't looking at him though, so it wasn't much use.

 

Jade just bowed her head and sighed. “I've already lost so many good people. So many people I care about. I don't want to lose another one.”

Crane took the oblivious option, because if he started to acknowledge her feelings he'd have to acknowledge his, and that would be a terrible idea. “Rahim listens to me; I won't let him do anything stupid.”

“I wasn't talking about him,” she said, looking at Crane suddenly. God, she was beautiful.

 

All he had to do was lie again. God knows he'd lied to them all enough already. All he had to do was make it clear he wasn't interested. She was tough enough she'd take it fine; it wouldn't jeopardize his mission. It'd be easy.

 

But Crane’s hand felt it necessary to rest on Jade’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and his stupid fucking mouth had to say, “You won't lose me, Jade. I promise.” Goddamn it!

 

Jade snorted. “You can't promise that,” she said flatly, her head turned to look at him so her cheek was brushing against the back of his hand.

“For you I can,” slipped out of Crane's mouth, because he was an idiot.

 

Jade stared at him for a long time, and if Crane cared at all about his mission at this point he'd have looked away. But his gaze was fixed to hers, and if the GRE called right now he'd probably throw his radio off the Tower. Jade reached up and covered his hand with hers, holding tight.

 

Crane knew he was in serious trouble. And Crane did not give a damn.

* * *

They didn't talk about it. Neither one was the sappy kind, and it wasn't the time for romance anyway. There were just a few more important issues, like staying alive. Nonetheless, when Crane pulled Jade aside into the storage room one evening and shut the door, she didn't complain.

 

His back shielding it from the view of anyone who might barge in, Crane pressed a vial of Antizin into her hands.

“Jade, promise me you'll keep this on you,” he whispered, his face so close to hers that she could feel his breath, “If you ever get bit out there…”

Switching her incredulous gaze from the bottle up to him, she hissed, “Where did you get this? Lena should-”

“I found it today,” he lied, grabbing her shoulders to hold her in place when she moved to go around him, “Please, I can't lose you, either.”

 

They stared at each other for a long time.

“Fine, but if supplies get low…” she said finally.

Crane just smiled and squeezed her shoulders. “Thanks,” he whispered, before releasing her and taking his leave.

He would never dare admit it to anyone, including himself, but his priorities had shifted since he'd arrived. First it had been the GRE's mission. Then is had been that as a secondary to helping the Tower.

 

Now what drove him, what held his focus as he fought his way through the terrors of the plague, were three simple words:  _Keep Jade alive_.


	2. Crane Totally Isn't A Softy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crane is in Harran to finish GRE's mission. He's not here to help out the residents of the Tower. That's what he keeps telling himself as he blithely becomes attached to the lot of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may add to this chapter if I get inspiration for more moments.

_ He teamed up with Jade on a lot of runs. Because he was one of the few people that could keep up with her. That’s what they both said, anyway. It had nothing to do with the fact that they both felt more at ease when they could watch over the other one. _

There hadn't been any Infected down that side of the street. It must have fallen off the overpass and rolled down the slope. Though she hadn't been paying attention, her survival instincts had snapped her out of her scavenging focus. Jade swung around, grabbing the blade she'd left on the side of the car trunk.

 

The infected was reaching out to her, trundling closer from the side of the road. Pounding footsteps momentarily drew her attention aside - anything running was more dangerous. Crane came charging by and rammed into the infected at full speed. It went flying and he skidded to a halt, almost falling over as he scrambled to turn around. He half-walked, half-crawled towards the infected and smashed its skull with his elbow.

 

“Sorry,” he wheezed, wiping off his jacket. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She studied his face as he watched her. None of her other running partners had been that aware. Nor had they been that foolhardy - she would clearly have been able to take out that biter, and now their flank was unguarded. To his credit, Crane’s gaze soon darted behind her, surveying the area for more dangers. He nodded to her and jogged back to his position.

 

He may take unnecessary risks sometimes, but nevertheless… she appreciated his dedication to his duty as a guard. If less splattered brain matter had been involved, she might have even called it sweet.

* * *

_ He often volunteered to watch the stairs down to the 18th floor. He told himself it was to gain Brecken’s trust. He told himself it had nothing to do with sparing the others from seeing their friend's body trying to eat them. _

 

They had just left the nightly meeting when the familiar sounds of a biter hit them. He'd seen the tears in Brecken's eyes, the way his bandaged hands balled into fists. He'd seen Jade’s expression drop momentarily into horror, her body stiff and eyes locked on the biter. Crane had stepped forward almost instinctively.

 

“Don't look,” he said, knowing in the back of his mind that it was pointless. Normally he would have just killed it from a distance, but Christ, even he vaguely recognized the person that biter used to be. He slipped past the barrier, batting aside the biter's arms as it grabbed at him. Rotting fingers digging into his shoulders, he wrestled his hands onto the biter's head and-

 

_ Snap _ . Crane gently lay the body down, throwing a glance at his frie- at the Tower residents. They were, to a person, staring at the lifeless face of their former comrade. Shit. Crane didn't know what the body disposal deal was around here. There hadn't really been a good time to ask.

“... Lena?” he asked nervously, looking meaningfully between her and the body. She was the doctor, she was best trained to handle this shit.

“Drop them off the crane. We-” she began.

“No,” Brecken ground out, his knuckles white, “We'll bury him.”

Jade sighed in exasperation. “That would risk more lives.”

“He deserves-”

“He's  _ dead _ . He doesn't care!” Jade snapped, gesturing at the body.

 

Crane could hear moaning slowly moving up the stairs. If the leadership could make up their mind fast, that would be great.

Lena ignored the bickering and looked directly at Crane. “Dispose of the body. We can't afford to go outside at night.”

Brecken swore under his breath and stormed back into HQ, slamming his fist against the wall as he went. With a look half of apology and half of command at Crane, Lena followed after Brecken.

 

Jade helped carry the body, her eyes gravitating to the face. When Crane climbed up onto the crane boom, he turned back to see her lifting up the body. She could have just heaved it up onto the boom, but she was holding it as though the body still held life.

“Jade…” Crane whispered, hauling up the body with a lot more care than he might have if she hadn't been there.

“It was the right decision,” she told a steel crossbeam.

“You saved the Tower. You saved a lot of lives.”

“I know,” she said angrily, climbing up to join him on the boom. “Doesn't make it easy.”

“I'm sorry.” Comforting people had never been part of his job description. Having said his piece, he settled for Respectful Silence.

 

They carried it out halfway, swung it between them on her count, and let go. Both of them watched the body fly out and down, but it occurred to Crane that this was the last thing either of them needed.

“Jade,” he called urgently, reaching for her shoulder. Her gazed snapped to his, her arms raising in her habitual fighting stance. They barely heard the impact. Once she processed that Crane wasn't actually being eaten, mild annoyance mixed with her sadness. Without a word she turned and headed back to the rooftop. 

 

Dropping down onto the roof behind her, Crane broke protocol and his own loosely-followed rules. Every moment he spent with her went against all his “no attachments” regulations. But damn it, he couldn't bear to see her torn up like this. Her shoulders tense, her gaze hard and burning directly ahead of her. She'd handled the worst decision anyone could face, and all the platitudes in the world meant nothing when she had to dispose of the bodies resulting from her actions. Nevertheless, he wasn't about to let her stew alone in her suffering.

“Jade, wait, please,” he asked - almost begged - her retreating back. She halted but did not look back at him.

“C’mon, let's sit up here for a bit. Neither of us needs to go back right now,” he wheedled. 

 

She didn't react for an age, her glare focused on a bit of scaffolding.

“I don't need to talk,” she growled. 

“I wasn't gonna talk. Not about that. Look,” he offered, stepping to her side and gesturing out across the dark city, “we still need to plan that big food haul. We can see most of the way from here.”

After a few moments’ consideration, she glanced at him and gave a terse nod.

“Ok.” He headed closer to the edge, watching her out of the corner of his eye. “I know we're not gonna wanna climb with the heavy backpacks, but along that stretch,” he pointed out a street, illuminated in a low red glow by a burning car, “I think we could stay on the roofs pretty easily…”

  
They spent almost an hour planning out the route. When they parted, she paused in front of him. Looking over at him, she held his gaze for a second before nodding and striding away.


	3. The Tower Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jade and Kyle spend a little time with the kids of the Tower. Kyle demonstrates his amazing artistic talent.

“Ah, excuse me, do you have a moment?” Kate asked, inserting herself in their path. Jade came to a halt so suddenly that Crane nearly ran into her, though admittedly it took all his focus to walk. He'd run across half the town yesterday fixing power plants, and today he and Jade had spent hours scoping out a grocery store overrun with biters. His body was very much done for the day.

 

“With everything going on, the children are… nervous. If you could just talk with them… they idolize you both so much.”

“Yeah, sure,” Crane responded flatly, too tired to bother with vocal inflections.

“We have to debrief first,” Jade said, and he swore under his breath at having one more thing between him and his bed, “Half an hour?”

Kate grinned. “Thank you. Some of the kids have been having terrible nightmares. They'll really love talking with you.”

 

After a long discussion of the worth of a run to the grocery, and a solid fifteen minutes washing off the blood and gore and changing into less dirty clothes, they grabbed their shares of dinner and headed for the kids’ room. Crane sat on the floor with three of the kids and was duly given his own paper and permission to use the crayons. Jade was brought into the other room by an eager little girl and her friends to admire their latest artistic endeavors.

 

An hour and a half later, after Kate turned off the last light and shooed the children to bed, Jade carefully picked up the little boy who had fallen asleep on her lap.

“Thank you,” Kate whispered, guiding Jade to the boy's bed. They moved on to the other room, where Crane was leaned back against the couch, asleep. He too had a kid asleep on his lap, his arms wrapped protectively around the girl. Her brother was curled up against Crane's arm, drooling on his sleeve.

 

Stepping over their drawings spread on the floor, Jade knelt next to Crane and gently shook his shoulder. She whispered his name until he startled awake, his grip tightening on the kid.

“It’s me,” Jade whispered, holding his wrist as reassurance. Crane slowly relaxed and dropped his arms. The little boy whined out of habit as Kate scooped him up.

 

As they walked together down the hall, Jade whispered, “Thank you. I know they won't have a normal life, but…” She shrugged. Crane just smiled, his eyes hollow with exhaustion.

 

The next morning, as Jade had an early breakfast on the roof, Kate appeared with four pieces of paper.

“I thought you might like to see these,” she said with a smile, holding out the drawings. With no further explanation she left Jade to enjoy the amorphous representations of what she could only assume was a scorpion. One kid had drawn the scorpion hovering midair between two buildings, with some action lines scrawled behind it. Another had it shooting lasers out of its eyes and… maybe fire out of its tail? The third had the scorpion wrapping its incredibly long and thin arms around the entire tower. Each child had carefully written their name in a corner of their masterpiece.

 

Jade pulled out the last picture and smiled. A stick figure drawing of a scorpion, wearing a leather jacket, took center stage on the paper. It - she - had her claws raised in victory, with a bunch of yellow lines radiating out from her, presumably her victory physically manifesting itself. Next to her, smaller, was a crane, slightly tilted in what was probably supposed to be action. Behind the two of them was the Tower, with a mass of stick figures cheering on the roof. The artist had even helpfully written in a bunch of 'Yay’s to convey the message.

 

In the corner, written with care in purple crayon, were the words  _ Kyle Crane _ .

  
She hung all four by her bed.


	4. The Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major spoilers here on out!
> 
> The events of the Museum, minus the shitty part where Crane forgets he has extra Antizin and just lets Jade die for the Angst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will definitely do a version sometime of Jade and Kyle going through the ending of Dying Light together. For this time around, I figured her leg would only start to get worse once the adrenaline wore off (see: how she's faring when Kyle first finds her).

His apology spilling from his lips, Crane scrambled to his knees for the injector. “Where's your Antizin?” he asked, crawling over to her. Her weak gesture led him to one of her many pockets, which he quickly raided.

“Cheating the game, Crane? I'm disappointed. If you will not face the consequences of your actions, I will just have to make them clearer. You, you, you and you.” Rais pointed to several of his henchmen. “Kill them both.”

* * *

“Crane, you have to go,” Jade said as they limped down the steps together.

“Just gotta get you to a safehouse,” he replied through gritted teeth, readjusting his grip on her arm, slung round his shoulder. He was supporting half her weight, trying to keep it off her injured leg.

“Troy can send a runner. You need to go.”

Snorting, he kept his eyes focused on the walkway ahead of them. “I’m not losing you again, Jade.”

“I’ll be fine. Go.”

“Hell no.”

Grunting in frustration, Jade reached for her radio. “Troy? I need a runner to help me get to a safehouse. Crane won’t leave until I have one.”

“What? Crane, this is urgent.”

“I know. It’s right there, we’ll be done in no time.”

“ _ Crane. _ ”

 

He knew they were right. In any other circumstance, he would have been on their side. It was self-centered and foolhardy and naive to spend an extra moment rescuing her, when he needed to go help prevent the city from getting firebombed. But damn it, he’d spent days chasing after her, and almost lost her to infection. They’d have to hold him at gunpoint to make him abandon her… and even then it was dubious if he’d leave.

“Jade,” he said quietly, as they staggered towards the exit, “I’m not leaving you.”

“It won’t matter if we all get bombed!” she snapped.

“We’re almost there.”

“Kyle.” She only called him by his first name when it was serious.

“Look, it’s like five minutes away. It’ll be fine.”

They turned the corner to find two of Rais’s men guarding the exit. Seemingly on instinct, Jade drew two small knives from her jacket. She hit both men between the eyes in the time Crane took to draw his weapon. He very nearly said he loved her right there.

“I’ll be fine, Crane,” she said quietly, holding her weight off her bitten leg, “Go.”

 

He stared at her for a moment, his mind a desperate whirl of ways he could do his job and not leave her.

Jade limped over to the men and picked up their rifles. Peering in one of the vans, she said, “I’ll hole up in here. Go.”

 

Crane swore. “Ok. Just… jesus, Jade, promise me I’ll see you again.”

“You won’t if you don’t stop the bombing!”

Taking the hint, Crane nodded and sprinted off. Though he may have taken the few extra seconds to kill the biters outside the entrance.

* * *

With a tight binding and enough alcohol to dull the pain, Jade made it back to the Loft in one piece. Michael had been more than happy to run an errand for Troy, and he had even managed to be marginally useful to Jade - though mostly by bringing her the supplies.

 

Troy hadn’t said anything. She just helped Jade up to the highest point and handed her binoculars. Crane had almost reached the tower by the time she got in position. God, she hated watching other people fight. If it wasn’t for her damn leg she would be there with him, helping. Sitting here she felt useless.

 

It was too far for her to make out details, but she saw the plume of dust when the elevator fell. Figures were shifting in the shadows, running towards the tower. Swearing under her breath, she reached to her ear for her radio. Cutting over Crane’s swearing, she yelled, “Virals, Crane!”

All she could see were the flashes of light as he fired on the swarming mass.  _ Christ, Crane, don’t die like this. Don’t die like this _ .

 

When the flashes stopped, she demanded, “You alright?”

The few moments of silence were some of the longest in her life. “Shit. Yeah. I’m climbing up.”

In the darkness and the rain, she couldn’t track him. That didn’t mean she didn’t try, even as he reported that he’d set up the amp. As the distant roar of jets reached her ears. As Crane’s message blasted in her ear.

 

She only looked away when the jets broke off, leaving Old Town in its relative silence. They had survived. Somehow, despite everything, they had survived.

* * *

The antiseptic burned like hell. Clutching the sides of the chair, Jade bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut. A litany of profanity flew through her mind as she rode out the agony.

Approaching footsteps, accompanied by a familiar panting breath, made her look up. Crane stood in the doorway, one hand on the doorjamb as he gaped at her.

 

The medic had looked over his shoulder, and was now turning a knowing gaze to Jade. He quickly tied the gauze against her wound with some bandaging and got to his feet. Without a word he slipped by Crane, who was still just watching her. His exhaustion had melted away into a smile, a slight tilting of his lips.

 

Once the medic was gone, Crane slowly closed the distance. Bending over, he enveloped her in his arms.

“Jade… christ, you’re alright,” he whispered, his voice rough and choked.

“You saved the whole city, Kyle,” she breathed, returning his embrace.

He didn’t even react. He just held her.


	5. The End (of the main game)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyle running his fool self off to fight Rais, from Jade's POV. Then the aftermath, as Jade and Kyle finally get some time together.

“I’m going to Rais’s tower.”

Jade immediately went for her radio. “ _ What _ ? Crane, are you insane?!”

“He’s gonna give the GRE Zere’s data. They’re sending him a goddamn helo.”

“Crane, no, there’s no way you can-”

“There’s no time for anything else.” There was a gush of static - the sound of him releasing a held breath upon impact with the ground. God, she knew that sound so well from running with him. She should be running with him now.

“I’ll get in touch with Brecken-” Troy cut in, but Crane interrupted her. “No, Rais wants to fight  _ me _ . Bringing more people won’t help.”

 

Jade glared out over Old Town, processing the options. Then she swore.

“...good luck, Crane,” she said over the radio. “Be careful. He still might try catching you in a trap.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill him,” said Crane.

* * *

Jade was the last line of defense. Troy had sent as many of her runners as she could spare to guard Dr. Camden, and Jade was the final person between any unwanted visitors and the doctor. She may not be very mobile at the moment, but she could still take down anything that came her way. So she was in the lab when Dr. Camden started exclaiming about the results from the samples. Troy had called on radio silence for Crane - there was no mission or information more important than what he was doing - but Camden hadn’t gotten the message. Jade didn’t have a chance to stop him before he radioed Crane.

 

For the first time in months, Jade felt true relief as Crane’s voice came over the radio loud and clear.

 

He stayed at the Tower overnight, and she slept in the lab. They fell into radio silence again, fearing eavesdropping from whatever was left of Rais’s forces. The first she heard of his arrival was when the runner watching the elevator radioed her that a friendly was inbound. Crane grinned at her - maybe the first time she’d ever seen him that happy - as he strode past her. Handing Dr. Camden the disk, Crane watched in stiff-backed anticipation as the doctor plugged it in.

 

The three stood in agony as the disk whirred to life.

“Yes!” Dr. Camden yelled, “It works!”

Relieved laughter spilling from Crane’s lips, he turned to Jade and threw his arms around her. Reveling in the fact that she could, Jade clung to Crane’s back.

“We did it!” he cried, almost lifting her off her feet.

 

Soon enough her moment of peace was broken. A warm, wet patch was growing on her jacket. Pushing him away, she looked at the soaking blood stain on his chest.

“Jesus, Crane!” It would be great if one man in her life could avoid getting seriously wounded. Just once.

 

He looked down too. “Oh yeah,” he commented, “That's gonna suck when the adrenaline wears off.”

“Yeah,” she snapped, going to retrieve a med kit from the stash of supplies the guard team had brought with them, “It is.”

When she returned, he'd pulled off his jacket and shirt. Seated on one of the chairs, he was peeling off the tape holding a completely soaked piece of gauze to his collarbone. Well, that had been a very brief respite from reality.

* * *

When Jade's shift was up, they retired to the uncontaminated storage room and cleared out the bodies. The other off-duty runners took off to the closest safehouse, but neither Jade nor Crane was willing to be too far from Dr. Camden. Just in case things went bad.

 

Jade had brought a sleeping bag for just this purpose, and they managed to find some sheets that had miraculously been spared from gore. Crane quipped that it was practically like home, and Jade had actually chuckled. It felt like forever since she'd laughed. Crane wasn't in a jovial mood for long, though. When Jade turned on the lantern, his heart sunk. Bruises were starting to form on her neck. Deep, dark blotches marked where his hands had wrapped around her throat.

 

As she placed the lantern on the floor she noticed his staring.

“What?”

“Jesus, Jade… I am so sorry.”

It took her a moment to work out what he was referencing.

“It wasn't your fault,” she said softly.

“I should have-...”

Shaking her head, she briefly touched his shoulder. “It's fine. It'll heal.”

 

None of that changed the fact that her neck had bruises the shape of his fingers. Christ, he might have killed her. Rais deserved a much worse fate than he had suffered. And Jade deserved so much better than this. Than all of this.

 

She'd removed her jacket, folding it on an empty shelf. As she wiped off whatever filth she could remove from her pants, she happened to catch his mournful gaze. Straightening up, she moved closer.

“Should change your bandage,” she said, gesturing to his wound.

Grateful for a distraction (and a chance to have her hands on his skin), Crane obligingly stripped down to a bare chest. Together they applied extra gauze - “Don't wanna stain the bed,” he'd said with a half-hearted laugh - and he unabashedly watched Jade being undeniably  _ alive  _ as she wound tape around his shoulder to hold the bandaging in place.

 

They settled together on the unfolded sleeping bag, their shoes left on and their weapons close at hand.

“G’night, Jade,” he whispered, rolling onto his side to try and take as little space as possible.

“...Kyle.” That made him roll onto his back to look at her, sitting upright next to him.

“You've given us all hope now. Thank you.” Her eyes were fixed on his, half-lit in the low lantern light.

“It's my fight too,” he said, for something to say.

“You could have left. The GRE would have taken you. Wouldn't they?” It wasn't a question.

“...They offered. But fuck 'em.”

In the shadows stretched across her face, he could barely see the smile on her lips. “You didn't have to stay. Thank you.”

 

Sitting up, he replied, “It’s not-... No. Just take the  _ one _ chance for a cure and leave?”

Jade shrugged. “Many people would have done it.”

“I'm not leaving you,” he said instantly. That was too honest, so he added, “We're all in this together.” It was true, too. Even without her presence he would never dream of jumping ship. But there wasn't even a question that he'd stay as long as she was here. 

“A lot of people don't feel that way. We're lucky you do.” They regarded each other for a few heartbeats before she nodded. “Goodnight.”

 

He watched her lay on her side and pull up the sheet. As he lay down next to her, their backs to each other, he swore to himself that he would get her out of here. One way or another, she deserved to live.

* * *

The next day, Michael came with a handwritten note from Troy:  _ Build up the defenses today. Tomorrow Jade & Crane claim fav. safehouse & have day off. Need @ peak performance. Tell no one. Don't make me kidnap you both and leave you tied in a room for a day. I will. Troy _

 

When he radioed in that he'd delivered the message, Troy tuned into Crane’s frequency and patched in Jade.

“I know you both hate sitting around instead of running, but we need you to deal with it a while longer. Please, for everyone's sake.”

“Troy, we don't-”

“Yes. You do. Brecken understands. Lena said it was vital. Do it.”

 

They left at dawn, before any possible surveillance could get in place. Troy had recommended one safehouse, and as strangers they had no better ideas. The way there was thankfully calm. With Jade’s leg still on the mend, and Crane unable to fully raise his left arm, it was for the best. They limped and struggled their way across rooftops and along cables. It was almost nice, helping each other traverse the obstacles. A reminder of when they'd run before - hardly a  _ good _ memory by normal standards, but fairly happy relative to more recent events.

 

They were both miserably antsy within minutes. Neither was much for relaxing when there were missions to finish - especially when they could hear over the radio that other people were doing them. Jade paced and Crane fiddled idly with one of his weapons.

 

Finally Jade sighed. “Rahim. What happened?”

Crane froze, staring at the hilt of his blade. Slowly he looked up at her, standing over him with a coldly emotionless expression. Shit.

 

He told her everything he remembered. She angrily and aimlessly strode around the room when he told her about going after Rahim. When he got to the part about discovering a turned Rahim she sat, deflated, next to Crane on the couch. The glare she gave the floor should have burned through it.

 

Crane trailed off there, his description of Rahim’s last moments terse and awkward.

“I'm… god, I'm so sorry. He was the best friend I had here. I just…” He shrugged and rubbed his bowed face with a hand. 

Several minutes of silence followed, broken by the ever-present low moans passing by in the street below.

“Why didn't you tell me?” Her voice was barely audible, cracked and raw.

“I…” Crane sighed and bowed his head. “I didn't-... You know Brecken better. I guess I thought maybe he should tell you.” Shaking his head, he looked at the opposite wall for respite. Somehow it didn't help. “I wasn't thinking,” he amended. “I was dazed and lost and I… I'm sorry, Jade. I should have gone straight to you.”

 

Nodding, she rose to her feet. “I need some time alone.” She disappeared up onto the enclosed rooftop patio. Swearing under his breath, Crane picked up his blade again and glared at it.  _ Goddamn it, Rahim, why did you hide that you were bitten? _ Though it did seem to be a family tradition.

 

Jade came back inside almost an hour later to find Crane sitting on the floor with arrows, arrowheads, and arrow shafts laid out around him. When her boots landed on the floor, Crane spun around but smiled when he realized it was her. She jerked her chin at his work and gave him a questioning look.

“I've been thinking, we should teach more people how to use a bow,” he explained, gesturing with the partially-made arrow in his hand, “It's quiet plus ranged, and you can recover the ammo. With my shoulder jacked up, I gotta be useful somehow,” he added with a chuckle.

 

Thank god, she smirked back at him. They were maybe ok.

“I know how you feel,” she replied, joining him on the floor.

Crane watched her pick up and weigh one of the arrows as he debated fiercely with himself. Finally: “Wanna learn?”

She looked up at him, eyebrows raised.

“The bow,” he explained, gesturing to it, leaned by the door, “I could teach you, if you'd be interested.”

“...Yeah. Sure.”

 

They must have spent hours practicing. It was as close to idyllic as Kyle's life was likely to get. Standing up in the midday sun, the stench mercifully weak (or he'd just adapted to it, a horrifying thought). Jade watching him as he demonstrated the one skill he could impress her with. The two of them together, peacefully unconcerned by the happenings beyond their little world - though they admittedly both kept their radios on.

Eventually night fell, and they returned indoors to muffle the moans and cries of the infected. This time around they had separate beds. They bickered over who got the sofa, with him finally winning. That meant she begrudgingly took the couch, as he laid out the sleeping bag on the floor nearby. Their bodies worn from the past week’s events, they quickly fell asleep.

* * *

_ She lay unmoving on the ground, her body contorted in agony. He'd taken too long. He'd gotten here too late, and she had turned, and they had killed her. She was all alone there, her bloodshot eyes staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. He had failed her, and now she was dead, and Rais had escaped and she was  _ **_dead_ ** _ … _

_ “ _ Kyle!”

A hand shook his shoulder. Jerked awake, he lay paralyzed for a moment, staring at her. She was crouching next to him in the first hints of dawn light. Her bared shoulders, bruised neck, and worried and beautiful and  _ alive _ face glowed against the darkness of the room. Oh god, she was alive.

 

When he regained control of his arms, his hands shot out to cradle her face.

“God, you're alright,” he croaked, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

Jade’s eyes switched between his. Slowly her hand moved up to cover his. Crane was still just lost in the knowledge that she was okay.

 

Her other hand moved up to rest against his cheek. Bending over, she pressed a kiss to his lips.

 

It was tender, sweet, and momentary. Too soon she pulled back. Thankfully not beyond his reach; his fingers still brushed the edges of her hair.

“I'm glad you stayed,” she whispered.

“I'll never leave you,” he breathed, pulling her back for another kiss. Just being around her, even if she didn't care at all about him, had been a blessing. She was an amazing, badass, brilliant, caring person. But to have her actually care about him… he was the luckiest guy in the world. Even with the zombies everywhere. 

 

They didn't openly admit anything, of course. Flaunting a relationship in front of people who have, for the most part, lost everyone they ever loved would be horrible. But when they met with Troy and a handful of her runners at the Loft that day, Jade stood far closer to Kyle than she would ever stand with anyone else. Their shoulders brushing, he looked at some of the other runners to find a near-universal expression of recognition.

  
Troy just smirked.


	6. That Chapter Where They Say They Love Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crane gets stuck in the Tower with a sprained ankle, listening to Jade fighting out there without him. This prompts an incredibly unromantic confession of love, but really, with people like Jade and Kyle one would expect nothing more or less.

Goddamn that fuckin’ ramp. It'd failed just as he'd pushed off, resulting in a twenty-foot fall and a sprained ankle. So now he was recuperating in the Tower, and Jade was out running. She didn't need his help, he knew that. She’d saved his hide way more times than he'd saved hers. But that was the point. He didn't need her protecting him either, but she still did. That's what people did for those they cared about. It wasn't about the skills of the lo- the one they cared about. It was about sitting in the radio room, listening to the person who meant more than anything to you fighting off virals. It meant cursing everything that was keeping you from being there next to them.

 

“Jade, you alright?” Crane asked tentatively after the ruckus died down.

Someone on the other end of the line spat.

“Yeah,” she said eventually, and Crane’s heart finally stopped pounding against his ribs. It had sounded really bad there for a while.

“It's getting dark soon,” he commented, trying not to sound too much like a fussing mother hen.

“I know,” she snapped. Crane got the message to shut up.

 

Nevertheless, he was waiting for her when her running group returned. She never did that; she always had more important stuff to do. But he was just bumming around waiting for his ankle to cooperate. So he was there to unnecessarily help up the fatigued runners with the hollow stares of those who’ve just survived nighttime in Harran. But when he hauled Jade up to the second floor he didn't release her hand once she stood on his level.

 

Blood smeared from the corner of her reddened lips across her cheek. He was used to seeing every runner caked in blood, but it usually wasn't their own. It was just a bloody mouth. She'd probably gotten that kind of thing all the time in her previous career. It was fine. She was fine.

“Great haul,” he said, nodding to the supplies they'd brought back. Jade pulled her hand free and wiped at her mouth with the back of her gloved thumb.

“Yeah, thanks.”

Crane jerked his chin at her bloodied mouth. “Do you need to see Lena?”

“I've had worse,” she muttered.

“Listen, I know you wanna go to bed, but I need your advice on a run I've been planning,” he lied. He just wanted a minute alone with her.

“Can't it wait?” she sighed, walking past him to head for the elevator. The other runners had already gone up, so Jade and Crane got the elevator for themselves.

 

Once the elevator rumbled into motion, Crane enveloped Jade in a bear hug. He buried his face in her greasy hair and inhaled the smell of  _ her. _ It took her a moment to respond, but she eventually returned his embrace.

“I love you,” Crane whispered. In another life he would have waited for the perfect moment. He would have taken her out for a luxurious dinner and told her at sunset. But here, now, they could die any second. There was no time to spare. Realistically he should have told her as soon as he'd realized it. But even with death a constant threat, she probably had no interest hearing his confession while she was hacking apart virals. Neither did he want his admission indelibly intertwined with infected blood spurting everywhere. Even now he had  _ some _ standards.

 

When she still hadn't responded by the time they were passing the ninth floor, Crane added, “I just needed you to know. I don't expect anything from you.”

Her cheek was pressed against his jacket, muffling her voice slightly as she said, “Love is a dangerous thing in times like these.”

“I know,” he replied, “But it's still true.”

“Either one of us could be dead tomorrow,” she said wearily.

“That doesn't mean we can't be human.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Crane wasn't sure what to make of it, especially because she maintained the strength of her hug. When they reached the top floor, he released her and pushed open the door. Crane gave up on getting any more words from her, so he bade her goodnight in defeat. 

 

Having done jack-shit that day, he wasn't tired enough to fall asleep to the howling volatiles just yet. He really did have to plan out a run anyway. Pulling over his desk chair, he rested his jacked up leg on it as he traced a route for retrieving more water tanks. At least he could be marginally useful today.

 

After half an hour, footsteps halted at the open door. 

“You really are planning a run,” Jade said from the doorway. Crane turned to look at her, the blood and gore wiped off her skin and hair.

Once Jade stepped into Crane's room she calmly shut the door, and he began to wonder just how serious she thought this run was. Her jacket came off too, and he was just starting to realize that maybe she wasn't here for planning when she reached for the hem of her shirt. She gave him a pointed stare and he moved to turn away, but all she asked was, “Are you really gonna sleep in that?”

 

He hadn't thought his clothes were that bad, all things considered, but he wasn't going to argue. The offending garments were quickly removed, allowing him to witness her pulling her shirt over her head. Stained, tattered sports bra and ragged panties. Oh god, she was so gorgeous.

 

He didn't dare do anything, so she had to take the initiative and shove him towards the bed. Her bare, callused hands on his bare chest. Oh god. 

“The run can wait,” she murmured, and he had never agreed so much with a statement in his life. He slipped into the sleeping bag on his own and watched her nervously. What was expected of him?

 

She slid in next to him, pulling his arm away from his side to stretch out as her headrest. Her arm laid across his chest, her cheek on his shoulder, their legs intertwined. If the damn zombies could shut up for three seconds, he would have mistaken this for paradise.

 

Crane was about to doze off into the most contented slumber he'd had in a long time when Jade whispered, “I'm terrified of needing someone again.”

He tilted his head over to get a better look at her beautiful eyes, locked to his gaze.

“I needed Rahim. He was all I had left of my family. He was my only connection to my past. To before all this. I can't… I'm scared of depending on anyone like that now. And with you it's different… you're the best man I’ve ever met. If I lose you…” She shook her head, as though to clear away the thought.

 

“You won't,” Crane blurted out, because he had an overwhelming urge to comfort her. But lying didn't work on Jade.

“You can't promise that.”

“You're right. I can't. We could both be dead tomorrow,” he admitted.

“That'd be one thing. But I don't want to go through outliving someone I love again. Especially not someone like you.”

 

There was nothing honest he could say to that, besides the fact that it melted his heart to have her talking about him like that. She needed him. She loved him, whether she was willing to say it directly or not.

Eventually he came up with something halfway decent: “If I lost you, it would hurt more to know that I'd missed all that time with you. Even if I never told you I love you… I'd still love you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Just… give me some time, alright? “ she said gruffly.

  
Oh. Well then. He tightened his grip on her and settled in for a night spent holding the woman he loved.


	7. Ezgi returns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ezgi moves to the Tower, with a side of her being suspicious a dude like Crane could ever attract a woman like Jade.

“Kyle? Are you there?”

He paused. Releasing the tension off the bowstring, he crouched on the rooftop and answered, “Ezgi? What's up?”

“I want to come to the Tower. You've got gardens there, right? I can help. I hate farming but I can do it. I'm useless here and it's driving me crazy.”

“That's way too dangerous.”

“Come on, I made it all the way here on my own.”

“Not _entirely_ on your own.”

“I’m not an idiot, Kyle. I can handle myself.”

 

Crane silently watched the infected he’d been about to shoot wander off the rooftop.

“How good at farming are we talking?”

“Better than any of you city-folk, I bet.”

Sighing, Crane rubbed his brow. “Fine. I’ll talk to Brecken about it. No promises.”

“Yes! Thanks!”

* * *

Two weeks later, Jade ended up in Sector Zero again, this time to deliver some tissue samples to Dr. Camden. Brecken had decided that they’d take in Ezgi, but they’d only pick her up when a runner was in the area on other business. So here was Jade, one of the best runners in Harran, babysitting someone back to the Tower. She was not in a particularly good mood when she stopped by the university at dawn.

 

A young woman appeared from the back when one of the residents called out her name.

“Ezgi?” Jade asked, nodding to the woman. The nonchalance on her face quickly melted into surprise.

“Whoa. You really do look like the Scorpion.”

“I _am_ the Scorpion. Come on, we've got to go. It'll take all day.” Jade turned to head for the stairs.

“Wait… you're seriously the Scorpion?!”

Sighing - it had been annoying enough the first time, with the Tower’s residents - Jade replied over her shoulder, “Yes. Come on.”

-

“Here, you'll need this,” Jade said as they entered the pungent morning air. She held out a machete to Ezgi, who uncomfortably took it.

“You know,” Ezgi commented as they crossed the wires, “I'm really surprised you- shit!” Jade spun around to grab Ezgi’s arm. She'd lost her balance, her foot dangling in free air over ten or twenty biters.

“Thanks,” she breathed, her whole body tense.

“Be careful. It's a long way.” This woman better be as good at raising food as she claimed. Escorting someone all the way from Sector Zero to the Tower was a huge hassle. Jade would already be a quarter or the way home by now.

“So, uh, yeah, I'm surprised you stayed.”

“I didn't mean to. Be quiet, there's infected up here too.”

Ezgi must have finally gotten the message; the rest of the trip to the Slums was deathly silent.

* * *

Crane made a detour by the Tower to welcome Jade back, and to welcome Ezgi as well. He met them at the entrance with a smile.

“How was it?” he asked, wrapping his arms around Jade. It was always a risky trip to Sector Zero, even for the best runners like Jade. He hadn't exactly sat around worrying over her, but… it was nice to see her safe. She knew how he worried, too - despite her doubtlessly wanting to get on with her day, she returned his hug sincerely.

 

“It was quiet. Not even a Toad.”

“Great,” he breathed into her neck. She deserved quiet days.

They pulled apart, returning to a more professional distance. Crane turned to Ezgi and nodded with a smile.

“Good to see you again, Ezgi.”

“So you weren't lying after all,” she teased, folding her arms across her chest.

“Hah, no, I wasn't.”

Jade looked between them with minor suspicion.

 

_“... Are you seriously just staring at her?”_

_Crane tore his gaze away from the poster of Jade and found Ezgi in the doorway, arms folded across her chest and eyebrows raised in suspicion._

_“Oh, hey, I didn't hear you.”_

_“No, come on, why were you staring at the Scorpion?”_

_Crane looked between the poster and Ezgi. “I just… I miss her.”_

_“Yeah, we all do,” Ezgi said sharply, clearly becoming less convinced by the moment of Crane's sanity._

_“No, I- we're…” It felt strange, wrong even to say they were dating. They sure as hell hadn't ever gone out to dinner, or even explicitly agreed they were in a relationship. Not that there was a question. “We're in love,” he finished awkwardly._

 

_Ezgi actually took a step back, her expression shifting into poorly-concealed concern. “So you're one of those guys?” she asked tensely._

_“What? No, no, she's- she's at the Tower. In the Slums. She's saved my life a million times.”_

_Ezgi sidled further back. “Let me guess, if only she really knew you…”_

_Crane gave a nervous chuckle. “No, it's not like that, we've talked about it. She's said she loves me. It's a…” He sought the right words, and failed. “It's a normal thing.”_

 

_Ezgi looked more ready to believe he was an alien. “Jade Aldemir, three time world kickboxing champion, is alive, in Harran, and is for some reason in love with you,” she said flatly._

_Chuckling to himself, Crane looked back at Jade's face. “Yeah. I'm a lucky guy.”_

 

“Oh, uh, she saw me staring at your poster,” Crane explained, gesturing to the very amused Ezgi, “So I explained I wasn't a random creep.”

Jade’s doubt transitioned into a smirk as Ezgi teased, “I’m still not totally convinced. But I guess I’ll accept it.”

“Great. Crane’ll show you around. What’re you up to?.” The last question was directed at Crane. He briefly explained where he’d found a little stash of supplies, and with a quick kiss to his cheek she was off, presumably before she could be lassoed into any more babysitting. That left Crane with a rather disappointed Ezgi.

Shrugging, he gestured towards the Tower entrance. “She likes to do runs. C’mon, I’ll show you around.”


End file.
